John bilbie and henri drivet



UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

JOHN BILBIE AND HENRI DRIVET, OF LONDON, ENGLAND.

PROCESS OF TREATING CARBID OF CALCIUM.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that we, JOHN BILBIE, a subject of the Queen of GreatBritain, and HENRI DRIVET, a citizen of the Republic of France, bothresiding in the city of London, England, have invented a certain new anduseful Processof Treating Garbid of Calcium, (for which application hasbeen made in Great Britain, No.19,'786,dated September 17, 1898,) ofwhich the following is a specification.

The objects attained by our invention are to render the commercialcarbide of calcium proof against the action of atmospheric moisture, toneutralize or destroy its objectionable odor, to render the productionof gas in the presence of water more uniform, and to enrich the gas andimprove its lighting power.

By treating carbide of calcium in a broken or granulated condition witha small percentage of petroleum in such a manner as to coat the piecesor grains of carbide with a thin film of the oil the carbide will berendered practically weatherproof, and when used in generators or lampsit will combine with water in such a manner as to produce the gasregularly and prevent the excessive and oftentimes violent evolution ofgas, which is often experienced in using the ordinary carbide. Moreover,the oil is taken up by the gas produced, with the eflfect of improvingits quality and increasing its lighting power.

For the purpose of coating the carbide we prefer to use petroleumpreviously purified by quieklime. The petroleum is applied by sprinklingit on the granulated carbide and stirring the mass until the grains arethoroughly and uniformly coated with the oil. From two to'five parts ofpetroleum will sufw fice for one hundred parts of carbide.

To killthe natural odor of the carbide and 4e impart to it a pleasantodor, we treat the carbide with essential oil-such as citronellannirbane, or eucalyptus. We preferably treat the carbide with from two tofive per cent. of essential oil before the treatment with pe- 45 troleumand give it a second treatment with the essential oil after thetreatment with pe troleum, the carbide being stirred after eachtreatment to thoroughly incorporate the essential oil with it. 5c

The above treatment preserves the carbide, renders it agreeable tohandle, enriches the gas, and renders the production of gas in lamps andgenerators steady and uniform.

Having described our invention, what we '55 claim is.- I

The improved process of treating carbide of calcium consisting intreating the pieces or grains thereof with an essential oil, thencoating the pieces or grains with petroleum, 6o

JOHN BILBIE. HENRI DRIVET.

Witnesses:

ALFRED NUTTING, FRED. G. LUNNON.

